Asia Tech Wire (July 24) -- Apple supplier Foxconn will invest 1 billion yuan ($137 million) in a new business headquarters building in Zhengzhou.

Taiwan's Hon Hai announced Wednesday that its subsidiary Foxconn Technology Group has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Henan provincial government.

Young Liu, chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, and Kai Wang, governor of Henan Province, signed the agreement on behalf of both sides in Zhengzhou on Monday.

During the meeting, Wang said, "I hope that Foxconn will firmly invest in Henan …… work together to build a high-end manufacturing industry chain and a strategic emerging industry ecosystem."

Under the agreement, Foxconn will invest in the construction of a new business headquarters building in Zhengzhou to serve as the new business headquarters.

The first phase of the project site is located in Zhengdong New District, eastern Zhengzhou, with a construction area of about 7 hectares and a total investment of about 1 billion yuan.

Foxconn will also focus on the layout of electric vehicle pilot production center and solid-state battery projects in the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone.

Henan Province is China's largest cell phone production base, where Foxconn, Apple's largest partner, operates the world's largest iPhone assembly plant.

As Apple prepares to launch its iPhone 16 series of high-end smartphones this fall, Foxconn is ramping up hiring at its Zhengzhou plant, offering a 25 yuan hourly wage and additional bonuses.